The list below is not exhaustive; a complete bibliography of just the texts consulted during this project would require many pages. These texts discuss technologies in a fashion useful to the historical gamer, as well as a handful of books on subjects that are less commonly discussed in print at all.

Encyclopedia Britannica. A good encyclopedia can provide further information on many of the topics discussed in GURPS Low-Tech. The Britannica is the most comprehensive and the most scholarly. Its articles also provide a tremendous amount of the sort of information that makes good sidebars for GURPS books. No one reference book is infallible, but there's no better place to start.

Cantor, Norman, Ed., The Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, Viking Penguin, 1999. The 600 individual entries include many that focus on particular items of technological interest, although the primary focus is on key persons, places, and events of the period.

Coles, John, Archaeology by Experiment, Scribners, 1973. How to do serious reality testing of archaeological theories; full of actual, tested numerical results about prehistoric and ancient technologies. Requires critical reading, though, as some experiments do not perfectly replicate the original technologies.

Connolly, Peter, Greece and Rome at War, Greenhill Books, London, 1998. A comprehensive look at the weapons, armor, strategies, and tactics used by ancient Greece and Rome. Contains a large amount of physical detail (lengths, weights) on various arms and armor, as well as subsections on naval warfare and siegecraft.

Cotterell, Brian, and Kamminga, Johan, Mechanics of Pre-industrial Technology, Cambridge University Press, 1990. In effect, this is freshman physics, with all the examples taken from anthropology and archaeology.

Daniels, Peter T., and Bright, William, Eds., The World's Writing Systems. A very detailed scholarly handbook on writing throughout history and throughout the world. The quality of the graphic reproduction is superb; this book shows what the text really looked like.

David, A. Rosalie, Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, Oxford University Press, 1999. The latest entry in this ready reference series surveys all aspects of daily life in one of the original cradles of civilization.

de Camp, L. Sprague, The Ancient Engineers, Ballantine Books (reprinted 1998). An entertaining summary of the great engineering feats of the human race up until the Renaissance. Individual chapters detail Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Arab, and Chinese contributions.

Diamond, Jared, Guns, Germs and Steel, W.W. Norton & Co, 1997. A highly readable study of how and why some cultures advanced more than others in various technologies, and what the historical consequences were.

Diehl, Daniel, and Donnelly, Mark P., Siege – Castles at War, Taylor Publishing Co., 1999. Based on a Discovery Channel documentary, this volume employs over 150 photos of re-enactors to illustrate the aspects of a late medieval siege.

Drews, Robert, The End of the Bronze Age, Princeton University Press, 1993. Excellent description of armies during the age of chariot warfare, and the factors that led to the passing of that age, set within a larger discussion of why the major Bronze Age civilizations almost simultaneously faltered around 1200 B.C.

Ffoulkes, Charles, The Armourer and His Craft From the XIth to the XVIth Century, Dover Publications, Inc., reprinted 1988. This book, originally published in 1912, provides a comprehensive description of the European armorer's trade: the tools he used, the types of goods he made, and the manner in which they were produced.

Fliegel, Stephen N., Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1998. Solid discussion of the history and development of medieval weaponry, with many illustrations drawn from the museum's collection.

Gernet, Jacques, A History of Chinese Civilization, 2nd Ed., translated by J. R. Fisher and Charles Hartman, Cambridge University Press, 1982. Seminal French work on Chinese history from the Shang dynasty to the Mongol invasions. Devotes serious attention to documenting the course of technological developments.

Grant, Michael, The Ancient Mediterranean, Dutton/Plume, 1988. This history devotes some attention to Mediterranean civilizations that often command less attention, like the Phoenicians and Carthaginians.

Hawkes, Jacquetta, The Atlas of Early Man, St. Martin's Press, 1976. Compares the course of cultural, technological, and artistic development in every region of the world from 10,000 B.C. to 1000 A.D., focusing on eight periods ranging in length from 500 to 2,000 years.

Hardy, Robert, Longbow: A Social and Military History, A detailed examination of the longbow by one of the weapon's foremost authorities, including the author's notes on the bows recovered from the Mary Rose. Includes a chapter on making your own, from choosing the wood to breaking-in.

McClellan, James E., III, and Dorn, Harold, Science and Technology in World History, Johns Hopkins, 1999. A comprehensive survey of the development of technology, with especially good coverage of prehistory and non-Western cultures. The perfect one-volume overview.

McEvedy, Colin, The New Penguin Atlas of Ancient History, Penguin Books, 2003. This text, recently reprinted, provides insights into the growth of populations, trade routes, etc., during the Classical Age.

McGrail, Sean, Ancient Boats in N.W. Europe, Longman, 1987. Despite the title, this book is actually a survey of boatbuilding traditions throughout the world, as revealed by anthropology and archaeology. Many tables provide rich quantitative information on watercraft.

Messadie, Gerald, Great Inventions Through History, W. and R. Chambers, Ltd., 1991. An attempt to pinpoint dates of historical introduction of many important innovations from the Stone Age to the 1900s.

Sherratt, Andrew, Economy and Society in Prehistoric Europe, Princeton University Press, 1997. A collection of innovative essays on widely diverse aspects of European prehistory, from the distribution of trade goods to Scythian pot parties. Equally worthwhile as serious scholarship and as entertaining reading.

Smil, Vaclav, Energy in World History, Westview Press, 1994. A survey of the worldwide evolution of technology, with statistical information on many topics.

Warry, John, Warfare in the Classical World, University of Oklahoma Press, 1995. Superbly illustrated volume that traces the evolution of warfare from 1600 B.C. to 800 A.D. Filled with many sidebars detailing the attire and weapons of representative men at arms, ship types, and siege engine designs.

Webster, Graham, The Roman Imperial Army, A & C Black, 1985. Less concerned with strategy and tactics than with logistics and administration, this volume describes the unglamorous details behind Rome's defense of its empire.

Welsh, Frank, Building the Trireme, Constable, 1988. Describes the reconstruction of an ancient Greek warship in a modern boatyard; entertainingly written and a good guide to the intellectual controversies that surround this aspect of naval history.

Yadin, Yigael, The Art of Warfare in Biblical Lands in the Light of Archaeological Study, McGraw-Hill, 1963 (2 volumes). Beautifully illustrated with images of ancient art and artifacts. This survey of the development of warfare in Israel and neighboring lands is especially valuable for its discussion of the technological limits on military action and the competing evolution of weapons and defenses.